Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was launched in 2010 to accelerate efforts to protect and restore the largest system of fresh surface water in the world — the Great Lakes.

During FY15 -19, federal agencies will continue to use Great Lakes Restoration Initiative resources to strategically target the biggest threats to the Great Lakes ecosystem and to accelerate progress toward long term goals for this important ecosystem.

Find a GLRI Project

Use the map below to find GLRI project information. Or, see a list of all GLRI projects.(Note: the points on the map show the actual location of the project and/or the location of the entity managing the project.)

Highlights

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Report to Congress

During the first five years of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, over 2,500 projects were implemented to improve water quality, clean up contaminated shoreline, protect and restore native habitat and species, and prevent and control invasive species in the Great Lakes. That work, which began in 2010, is summarized in a new Report to Congress and the President.

The new Science in the Great Lakes (SiGL) Mapper is a map-based discovery tool that displays basin-wide monitoring and research. It can help stakeholders plan, implement and analyze restoration activities. SiGL currently has 191 projects representing 46 different agencies and organizations throughout the Great Lakes.

Announcing the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan II

On Sept. 24, 2014, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy released a new GLRI Action Plan that lays out steps that federal agencies will take during the next five years to protect water quality, control invasive species and restore habitat in the largest surface fresh water system in the world. McCarthy, who chairs the federal Great Lakes Interagency Task Force, released the plan at a meeting of Great Lakes Mayors in Chicago. The Great Lakes Interagency Task Force sponsored several opportunities for the public and stakeholders to provide input to update the GLRI Action Plan.